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 enlarge | Authors: Jon Krakauer, David Roberts
Publisher: Villard
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy New: $13.48
You Save: $8.47 (39%)
New (16) Used (10) from $12.83
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 25590
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 11.4 x 9.6 x 0.6
ISBN: 0375752676
Dewey Decimal Number: 949.12
EAN: 9780375752674
ASIN: 0375752676
Publication Date: October 6, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
 In Saga footsteps December 27, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
For anyone into the wild and all pure nature of Iceland, this is a good but advanced start. Try taking Njall's Saga at one hand and this very good-quality pictured book at the other and flip through the pages as you learn more about the Saga, the characters and the actual places where all these wild yet quite Icelandic bravery epic stories took place.This book is also great for anyone who would want to pursue a deeper understanding of the life during 1000 - when Christianity was adopted in Iceland. Again in this book you will get to read parts from various sagas, see turf homes and get a taste of pure Iceland. Enjoy it.
The Illustrated Icelandic Sagas January 28, 2005
This is the illustrated Icelandic Saga companion book. Roberts and Jon Krakauer make me want to go to Iceland-tomorrow.
 Not the Iceland I know May 9, 2004
42 out of 45 found this review helpful
I am glad I got this book just for the text, which is excellent. But I'm surprised at rave reviews for the photos, which to me are absurd. They hardly explore Iceland's unique topography and instead turn it into a generic rugged Anywhere. Notice that in almost every photo there's some sign of habitation: a building, an animal,a person in a boat, etc. The thing that distinguishes Iceland is that there's NO ONE there. You can drive for hours, as I have along the coast on a road that's simply a leveling of the gravel, without seeing another car, building or even a road sign. It's creepy and exhilerating. It's the ideal place to be alone. The landscape is so unusual it reminds you of nothing familiar, nothing from your past. And except for rocky outcroppings, it's flat in a way that makes you feel you could be on the moon. I love Iceland, am obsessed with it, and go there as often as possible. For me it is a source of existential peace. For a true picture of the landscape, listen to the music of Sigur Ros, and investigate the photographs of artist Olafur Eliasson. Or go and take your own pictures. They'll be better than these.
 Not Just a Coffee Table Book May 8, 2001
52 out of 53 found this review helpful
Another coffee table paperweight? Not by a long shot! I am planning a trip to Iceland and have been reading fairly intensively in the subject. When I began reading this book, I did not expect to learn much. What a pleasant surprise! I spent a whole Sunday poring through it and was surprised at how excellent the text is -- and how well Jon Kracauer's superb photographs supplements it. David Roberts digs deep into the sagas, quoting from such relatively abstruse sources as GIMLI'S SAGA, GRETTIR'S SAGA, and BARD'S SAGA. The helpful bibliography lists a number of works I never knew existed, including a book by Sir Richard Francis Burton, the African explorer, about a summer he spent in Iceland as well as a number of rare travel books written by Europeans going back as far as the 18th century. One thing unique about this book is that Roberts and Kracauer visit many out-of-the-way places mentioned in the sagas, such as the almost inaccessible Isle of Drangey, where Grettir the Strong met his death. If you hope to visit Iceland, get this book first. It will give you not only an excellent background in the sagas but an awe for this isolated land that is so close and yet so far.
Nice Photographs--Neat Sagas November 19, 2000
I ordered this book before coming to Iceland-- When I received the book I first was amazed by the Photography, it was outstanding. I couldn't wait until I was in Iceland so that I visit some of the places I saw in the book. (It looks even better in person-- no trick photography here) I also read about the sagas-- Sagas in Iceland are a very big part of the culture--No ifs ands or buts. They love telling stories about the sagas and thanks to this book I have been able to carry on some interesting conversations with the local Icelandic folks. Most sagas are rich with excitment. If you are looking for a book with great photos mixed with Icelandic culture-- Here's your book!
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